"Ancient Runes" a Severus Snape ff - Snape x OC

Chapter 12

"Do you mind if I..." Lysanna didn't finish the question, instead she pointed at one of the empty cauldrons. She was fed up with sitting at her desk and watching. If she had to take part in the lessons, then she wanted to take part in the practical part as well.

Snape looked at her in surprise but didn't argue, which Lysanna took as a "yes". Today was Thursday. Since the tour together on Tuesday night, Lysanna hadn't been able to get into a conversation with Snape again. He wasn't particularly rude to her and didn't snap at her, but he ignored her presence just like he had done in the beginning. Lysanna just couldn't make sense of this man. Tonight she had to accompany him once more on his nightly stroll around the castle. She secretly hoped that the darkness would provide another opportunity for a conversation, because her interest in him was still unchecked.

-

What kind of silly question was that? Did she want to brew some potions now? like a student? Severus didn't see any point in it, but why should he have objected. In fact, he felt something like curiosity about how she would do with it. The last two days had been almost an ordeal. Having to look at her day after day, hour after hour, being fixed by those beautiful eyes. He wondered what was going on in her pretty head, because often she just sat there with the faintest smile on her face and seemed almost absent-minded.

Never had a woman looked at him like that before, and that look triggered something in him that he didn't think he could ever feel for a human being again. Again and again his thoughts returned to those brief moments when they had been so close, to her looks, her elegant movements and, even if it had been really difficult for him to admit it to himself. He had a crush on her. At least a bit.

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The students had meanwhile gathered in the classroom and almost immediately the murmuring and conversation had stopped when Snape's deep, monotonous voice broke out:

"Books on page 68!"

This voice still sent a slight shiver down her spine, but the feeling was anything but uncomfortable.

Page 68 contained the recipe for a snakebite antidote.

Snakes. If Lysanna feared anything, it was snakes. There had been several incidents involving these animals during her work at the Ministry, all of which had ended more or less lightly, but had left a lasting impression on Lysanna. Once she was bitten by a snake, the hours that followed had been the worst hours of Lysanna's life. Not only had the viper's venom paralyzed her, but it had given her all sorts of horrific hallucinations that felt so real that just thinking about them still sends shivers down her spine.

She didn't even want to think about the other snake experience.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even listened to the professor anymore. Only when the students frantically rummaged in their pockets could Lysanna push aside her fear. For now at least.

"Prepare yourselves!" Snape's voice thundered and the students fell silent. With a wave of his wand, a snake appeared in front of each student. The snakes weren't particularly big, but of course the animals immediately tried to escape into some darker corners, so the students had quite some trouble keeping the snakes in place.

"Mr. Longbottom, if I may give you some advice, don't let yourself be bitten until we've made the antidote," Snape commented on the behaviour of a student who wasn't exactly adept at dealing with snakes.

Lysanna was glad that no snake had appeared on her table. Just the thought that she was in a room with about 20 snakes was scary enough.

"You must grab the head of the snake and hold it tight... Not too tight, Mr. Weasley!" Snape continued, already seeming to hate the idea of giving each student their own snake. Meanwhile, the whispers and murmurs among the students grew louder and louder. Occasionally you could hear soft whimpering and screeching.